Exodus
…but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:6 ESV)
Grace Already
Right in the middle of the Ten Commandments we find the hope of the gospel. When God’s people honestly read those commandments, we are struck with how long our sin list is. Wow, have we been disobedient.
It is made worse, years later, when Jesus explains that our sin is deeper than a simple act of disobedience. He teaches that while we might THINK we have not blatantly sinned, such as murdering someone… when our hearts are unrighteous, that TOO is a sin. Jesus said that hatred is a form of murder!
But the solution offered in Genesis is revived and repeated in Exodus.
Those who choose to love the Lord, will find God’s steadfast love instead of His wrath.
God shows here that His goal is not simply obedient people. But rather, a relationship with His people.
And less we worry about the ‘keep my commandments’ condition, there is only ONE who perfectly has done that. Jesus, Himself. And when we are connected to Him through the cross, HIS obedience, HIS keeping of the commandments becomes ours in God’s eyes.
It is through Jesus that God shows His steadfast love.